Safety strike plate and release bar



V. M. KING SAFETY STRIKE PLATE AND RELEASE BAR Feb. 8, 1949.

2 Sheeizs-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 10, 1947' f INVENTOR. l/m/vo/v M m/G Feb. 8, 1949.

V- M. KING SAFETY STRIKE PLATE AND RELEASE BAR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l0, 1947 ATTORNEYS Patented F'eb. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v 2,461,426 I p I SAFETY s'rmKE PLATE AND RELEASE BAR Vernon Merton King,Bakersfield, Calif.

Application February 10, 1947, Serial No. 727,677

2 Claims.

1 This invention relates to latches and locks for large, refrigerators, and more particularly to provision of a releasing device by means of which the door of the refrigerator can be opened from the inside.

In large room-size and other large refrigerators in which are stored meats, poultry, and many other things which require refrigerating and a considerable space, it has frequently occurred that a person moving about in the refrigerator finds himself locked in, with no means of informing the outside as to his presence in the refrigerator. Numerous deaths and serious injuries have resulted from persons being accidentally latched in refrigerating rooms.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a device by means of which a person inside of a refrigerator can release an outside latch or look from the inside.

A further object is to provide a latch releasing device for refrigerators which can be readily applied to a refrigerator or to the latches now used on refrigerators.

These and other objects are attained by the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a refrigerator latch releasing device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a locking plate forming a part of the device.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the device when being in a position to release a latch.

Fig. 6 is a front View of a modified form of the device.

Fig. 7 is a plan View of a strike or locking plate used in the modified form.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

Referring to the drawings, the device is shown in Fig. 1 to comprise a standard type of strike or keeper I, which has the usual roller 2 adapted to engage and allow the passage of a'latch bar 3 into the keeper. The above structure is conventional.

Attached to the bottom of the strike l is a plate 4, the strike being attached to the plate by means of screws 5. The plate has a plurality of pins 6 on one side thereof, the pins being adapted to be forced into the wall of the refrigerator. The pins or lugs 6 have square shoul- '2 ders in the back andrcund bottoms with tapered fronts. V This prevents .back playgof the plate 4' during operation "of the latch, and the rounded bottoms and tapered front allow the plate to be readily freed.

On the other side of plate 4 are two'cam surfaces or inclined surfaces l which are positioned at to each other, each of thesurfacesbeing adjacent to a flat surface 9, which "in turn is terminated by a stop shoulder NJ. The plate 4 has a slot 8 between the two sets of inclined surfaces and flat surfaces and stops.

Passing through the circular opening 20 in the plate is a safety release bar II to which is attached a handle I2 secured in place by a set screw l3. A brass filler washer It enables accurate alinement of the bar H and provides a rust proof bearing. A hard steel locking or adjusting washer [5 enables a rust free bearing between it and the filler washer [4, the washer I5 being secured to the bar H by a set screw 16. This locking washer l5 provides a seal which prevents loss of cold from the refrigerator;

At its outer end, the 'bar I I has attached thereto a key 30 which is proportioned to enter the slot 8, and ride up on the inclined surfaces 1 on to the flat surfaces 9.

In operation, when latched, the key 30 is on the flat surfaces 9, further movement counterclockwise (see Fig. 3) being prevented by the stops [0. When it is desired to open the door from the inside, the handle I! is turned a quarter of a turn to place the key 39 in the slot 8.

By pushing on the door it can be easily opened as it has been freed from connection with the refrigerator, the pins 6 moving out as shown in Fig. 5. The operator can reassemble the device in a few minutes after obtaining his release, and prevent loss of refrigeration due to an open door. The plate 4 can be installed on walls of any thickness, and the installation mayuse an old strike by attaching the plate 4 thereto. This installation provides a better means of securing a strike plate to a box. A tight and secure strike will prevent refrigeration loss due through loose strike plates.

The device will greatly reduce the loss of life and illness caused by people being accidentally locked inside of walk-in refrigerators.

The key 30 is tapered slightly to allow it to enter the slot 8 freely. The stops l0 prevent the key 30 from passing the slot 8, and also allows only A turn in locking and unlocking.

In Figs. 6, 7, 8 is shown a modified form of the locking plate, which differs only in the ar- 3 rangement of the stop 31 which is of less bulk than the stop ID, being merely a flange on the flat surface 9. Otherwise, the structure of the releasing device is the same.

The above description is to be considered as illustrative and not limitative of the invention of which modifications can he made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims,

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. In a safety latching device for a refrigerator,

a keeper, a latching plate attached to the keeper,

lugs on one side of the plate adapted to extend into the wall of a refrigerator, said plate having a slot, inclined surfaces and raised fiat surfaces on opposite sides of the slot, a bar passing through the plate and having at one end thereof a key adapted to ride on the inclined surfaces and rest on the raised fiat surfaces to hold the plate against the refrigerator wall, a washer of rustless metal positioned in the Wall of the refrigerator and encircling the bar, a washer of non-rusting metal attached to the bar and-engaging the first mentioned washer and a handle fixed to th bar. I

2. In a safety latching device for a refrigerator,

a keeper, a latching plate attached to the keeper.

.flat surfaces to limit movement of the key, a handlezattached'to the .bar and positioned on the inside of the refrigerator, a bushing mounted in the wall and surrounding the bar and a Washer attached to the bar and engaging the bushing.

VERNON MERTON KING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,150,450 Phillips- Aug. 17,, 1915 2,250,447 Dwyer July 29, 19,41

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 'Date 571,403 Germany Feb. 28,1933 

